The Long Night
by Mustard Lady
Summary: Their dream miracle has turned into a nightmare. Imprisoned at Sunnyside with Buzz treating them like criminal strangers because he's been switched to Demo Mode, Jessie and her friends are trapped. She is overwhelmed with feelings of grief, loss, regret, and guilt. She and the other toys only have each other left, yet each has only their miserable feelings and thoughts for company.


**I don't own Toy Story. This has some Buzz/Jessie shots, but not romantically. Several people have written their own stories of the prison scene at Sunnyside from Toy Story3, mostly from Jessie's POV. Well, here's mine.**

Andy Davis' remaining toys all felt as if they were in a bad dream! In a matter of seconds, craziness had ensued. Here they were, piled on top of each other in a disorderly manner, with...with _Buzz_ standing on top, gripping Slinky's tail and calling them... _prisoners!_ It was Jessie who asked the question they all wanted to say. "Buzz, what are you doing?" She gasped from underneath the other toys.

"Silence, minions of Zurg!" Buzz snapped harshly, with his index finger straight in the cowgirl's face. "You're in the custody of the Galactic Alliance."

"Zurg?" Rex asked, confused.

"Galactic Alliance?" Potato Head added.

"Oh, boy," Hamm moaned, under Rex.

"This is crazy!" Mitsy exclaimed.

"Good work, Lightyear," Lotso praised. "Now lock 'em up." He ordered.

"Yes, sir." Buzz saluted the bear and wasted no time in carrying out his orders. One by one, the toys were shoved or thrown into their cells. Struggling was pointless. After he'd poked and tossed Slinky into his cage, Twitch dragged the princess by the scruff of her neck as she struggled to run away. She was confused and frightened, all of them were. She struggled harder.

"You can't do this to us!" She cried at the big bug who ignored her and kept marching. "Please don't!"

"Hey," a firm voice from somewhere in the room said.

"No!" Mitsy called as she was brought closer to the cages. "Please, let go of me!" She begged. "I'm not going in there! Let me go! Ah!" She fell to the floor, her right plastic cheek burning. Something had hit her. She shook her head and looked up. Buzz was standing over the princess in a threatening stance and wore such a fierce glare that she could hardly stand to face him. He reached toward her.

"Hey, take your grubby paws off her!" Slinky called from his cell, anxious to jump out and protect Mitsy but powerless to do so.

Mitsy shrank back frightfully from the deluded but fearsome Space Ranger. "Buzz, don't do this," She pleaded in a cracked voice.

"Quiet, melodramatic pixie!" Buzz barked sharply down at her, causing the princess to squeeze her eyes shut. "Not another word or I'll let you have it again. Understand? Not another word! Quiet!" Mitsy was so stunned that she went limp, letting them drag her. As they did, she looked behind her and saw Lotso, sneering. Lotso, who was supposed to be their ally, their helper and keeper. He looked smugly the princess and all the other victimized toys trying to escape their confinement. Despite her shock, she shot back at the pink bear a glare of resentment. She was dropped roughly into the cage beside Slinky's and above Rex's.

Jessie had watched the whole piercing scene, and was beyond horrified. _This has to be a nightmare! Wake up, Jessie! Come on, wake up!_ Her mind screamed. Her heart had skipped a beat or two when Buzz- _her_ caring, protective, thoughtful Buzz who would never dream of harming his family and would stop at nothing to keep them safe-had struck her sisterly friend's face, right before her own distraught eyes! How had this happened?! It couldn't be real! It just couldn't! She was dragged by Sparks and Chunk toward the cells, but being a rough and tough cowgirl, she shoved Sparks to the side, kicked Chunk and sprang free. She darted forward, only to be grabbed and hung upside down by Stretch.

"Where do you think _you're_ going?" The octopus asked sarcastically, throwing Jessie up in the air and dumping her into her cell beneath Slinky's.

"Buzz, we're your friends!" Jessie pleaded, grabbing his arm through the bars. The angry Space Ranger turned to face her, his glare dark and inflexible...threatening.

"Spare me your lies, Temptress," Buzz snarled as he pushed her cell in place. "You're emperor is defeated. And I'm immune to your bewitching good looks." And he walked away. Jessie was left behind in her cage, dismayed as she watched him and still trying to process what was happening.

Potato Head was taken away by Big Baby and put in "the Box" solitary confinement. When Barbie saw and realized what was going on, having a noble heart, she told Ken off and let Buzz imprison her so she could be with her friends who were in trouble. Buzz barked the rules of Sunnyside until Jessie smarted off at his pompous attitude. Then Lotso explained what life was going to be like for them from that time on, but Andy's toys' hearts jumped into their throats when the strawberry-scented, hostile teddy bear tossed a familiar hat tauntingly at their feet. That was... _Woody's_ hat! Everyone gasped.

"Oh, Woody!" Slinky yelped painstakingly at the sight of the precious hat. He raised his paws to his mouth.

"NO!" Mitsy cried, and reached toward the dear hat hopelessly.

"Woody! What did you do to him?!" Jessie demanded, her anger as full as her grief. Lotso evaded her question, then departed with his sneering honchos.

* * *

The hours dragged on. Buzz endlessly pounded the tile back and forth, marching like a pro. Locked inside his amnesia, he had no clue how cruelly he was treating his family, and in truth, at the moment he didn't care. Oh, how they needed him desperately at this moment, with their brave leader Woody gone! Buzz was only inches away from each of his friends, almost within their reach yet _just_ out of it, and none of them he recognized. Yes, he was here, nearby those he had once cared about yet he was a completely intimidating stranger to them now!

Jessie, Rex, Slinky, Hamm, all of them were together-who was left of them-yet they couldn't be with one another. Near each other but still barred from much needed reach and each confined in his or her own lonely, depressed thoughts and feelings of hopelessness. They were a sad fragment of their once happy family. Their circle of loved ones had been broken, and without the two pillars whom they needed the most at this time, they'd never be able to cope. "Well, at least we still have each other," Slinky whispered to his friends, breaking the chilling silence.

"That's _all_ we've got," Jessie remarked miserably. She was so choked up that Slinky's attempted encouraging comment brought her small comfort. She was absolutely devastated. She'd only been trying to help her friends when she suggested donating themselves to this place. _Yeah, you surely helped them all right!_ Her thoughts pounded inside. Woody, her caring big brother and best friend, was gone! _If only I'd listened to him for once! If only I'd listened!_ _And now everyone else I care about is paying for my stupid decisions. I'll_ _ **never**_ _forgive myself. Not ever!_

Buzz was nearby, but the Buzz that they'd all loved and trusted was no longer here, at least not that they could see. Jessie hoped against hope and longed with all her heart that her Buzz, the one she'd chased a thousand times over the years only to have him return her a nervous grin and stutter trying to say the right thing but who always kept her safe and was mindful of her fears, was still in there... _somewhere!_ Lost, maybe his mind wandering in circles trying to break out of his brainwashed bubble, but maybe still there. _You're just kidding yourself. It's useless to hope. But...but I HAVE to! It's all I've got left!_ They were trapped in this prison for life! And it had all been her idea. Jessie shivered. She looked up dismally at the ceiling toward the princess's direction.

* * *

Mitsy lay flat on the floor of her cage, still shocked from everything, as were her friends, and whimpering dejectedly. _He hit me!_ _ **Buzz**_ _actually hit me!_ She thought hurtfully. _What happened to you, Buzz? You're our friend! You_ _ **were**_ _our friend. We need you right now, more than ever. And you're not here. What did they do to you? Woody's gone, and we can't lose_ _ **you**_ _too!_ Then a frightful chain of thoughts washed into her mind. _What kind of place is this, if...if they can make a toy turn against his friends? How did they do it? Are...are they going to do the same to us? Is that what 'The Box' is used for? What if Potato Head doesn't come back? What if he does, but doesn't know us? Will they fog our minds where we can't think for ourselves? Will we...gulp...are we going to f-forget e-each other? Forever?!_ Shivering with chills of dread, she crouched closer to her bars, straining to see any of her friends, to make sure they were still there, to make sure they were who she knew them to be. The only two she could see were Barbie, who was in the side cell to the left, and...and Buzz, who was not about to quit his razor sharp vigil. She signed with her fingers in Sign Language to Barbie.

Mitsy: _I'm glad you're here._

Barbie: _Me too. At least we can see each other._

Mitsy _: Yeah. I miss Woody so much! I want go home!_

Barbie: _We all do. I can't believe this happened._

Mitsy: _You should've stayed in the dream house, at least then,_ _ **you'd**_ _be safe._

Barbie: _Oh no! Not a chance! How could I lay low while my friends are in trouble? What kind of friend does that?!_

Mitsy: _I'm so glad we're friends._

Barbie: _Me too._

Mitsy: _You're a good sweetheart of a friend._ Barbie smiled and leaned up against the wall of her confinement, with her arms crossed.

Mitsy's thoughts turned back to Woody, their family patriarch, the heart and soul of togetherness and their life with Andy. He just couldn't be dead! He couldn't be! Facing a worthless future without...without Woody, to keep up their spirits and be around for them? No, that was _not_ possible! Mitsy could not accept that Woody was never coming back. Just the thought alone raised a gagging lump in her throat, as with the other toys too. She rubbed her cheek again where she'd been slapped and sniffled. "Oh, Woody!" She whispered. "Please come back! We need you! Why, why, why didn't you let me go back with you to Andy? Why did you tell me to stay here, when I didn't want to be uprooted and just placed in the hands of strangers? Why didn't you let me come back? At least then I could've gone for help and you wouldn't be...be...this wouldn't have happened to you! We'll never be able to survive in this infernal wasteland without you! And now you're gone?! Oh, Woody! Come back, _**PLEASE**_ come back! If we could have one indication, just one bit of hope that you're alive and will get us out of here so we can be together! I miss you so much, Woody!"

"Mitsy? Psst. Mitsy?" A raspy voice whispered.

"Slinky? Oh, Slinky! Is that you?" Mitsy asked and crawled to her left at the wall.

"Yes, it's me. Are you all right?"

Mitsy sighed heavily. "That is a rhetorical, inanimate question, Slink. None of us are all right! I keep wishing this was all a bad dream, but we won't wake up, no matter how much we try!" Slinky couldn't see her, but he leaned over as far as he could and reached his paw out and she grabbed it. Ooohh! Just being able to make physical contact was a deeply needed therapy.

"I know, I know," Slinky moaned sadly. Jessie quietly listened to their conversation, their familiar voices becoming small doses of tonic to her fully heartbroken mind.

"Oh, Slink," Mitsy said with longing. "I'm so glad we have each other!"

"Me too!"

"Me too," Jessie whispered to herself.

"Hey! Cut it out, you two!" Buzz barked at the toys, startling them. "No public displays of affection or passing secret messages. Now break it up." The princess and the dog unhappily let go of each other. Jessie glared at Buzz.

"Why don't you just lay off of them?" She growled in an annoyed tone. "It's not hurting anybody and they're not bothering _you!"_ The cowgirl was angered at how the ones she cared about were being cruelly deprived of just the slightest sign of assurance of one another's presence and care.

"Silence, Temptress! Enough out of you." Buzz growled fiercely. "Anyone or anything that steps out line under the authority of the Galactic Alliance..."

" _Galactic amnesia",_ Jessie said under her breath.

"...bothers me." Buzz continued. "If the commander of Star Command hears any reports of unbecoming behavior among you adversaries of the universe, the penalty to pay shall be severe indeed! So be forewarned! Don't let me catch you at it again. Yeah, I'm talking to you, iron spring canine and hysterical pixie." Buzz pointed accusingly at them. "Obey orders or else!" Jessie rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in a huff.

" _Hot shot hero,"_ She muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Buzz demanded as he turned to Jessie's cell. "Speak, Temptress! You spoke out of turn and I want to know what you said. Talk!" He rattled her bars, but Jessie, filled with anger and hurt, turned away with her back towards him and remained absolutely silent. "I can make you talk. You have something to say? Then speak!" Buzz pounded on the bars, but Jessie stayed inflexible. "I'll get back to you later." He sighed angrily and started marching back and forth again. Jessie didn't watch him. She drew her knees up to her chin and covered her face with her hands.

Mitsy leaned her head sadly against her own cell bars, staring at the iron-eyed Space Ranger. "How can you do this to us at a time like this?" She cried lowly, her voice cracking. Buzz, on his routine turn, caught sight of her face filled with hopelessness. He looked annoyed and squinted up suspiciously as he stepped toward her.

"Something you want?" He asked flatly, his eyes piercing. Mitsy didn't answer, but just looked at him, at the stranger before her. "Well?!" Buzz exclaimed impatiently.

Mitsy's shoulders sagged and she hung her head in defeat. A small sob escaped her lips. "Leave me alone," she cried, turning her back to him and crawled away into the shadows where she curled up into a ball and wept.

Buzz's angry eyes fell on Rex who had been watching from inside his dark cage below the princess. "What are you looking at, Cowardly Lizard Man?" Buzz scolded.

"N-nothing," Rex whimpered and also backed up into the shadows. Buzz scratched his head in confusion. These prisoners watched him always with a funny look, one he couldn't put his finger on. They always grabbed his attention but never explained what deep, dark plot they wanted him to carry out against his pledge to Star Command. He couldn't figure them out. And, he couldn't wrap his head around their rare devotion to each other. That was a new one to him. Previous prisoners and criminals that he'd captured in the past (unreal of course) were always attacking each other about who spilled the beans and gave them away plus they would give threats too so that Buzz and his comrades would have to separate them and keep them in maximum security surveillance around the clock. But the ones before him now that he'd been assigned to guard, they were...were so different. They didn't fight with each other: in fact, they seemed as if they were trying to comfort each other!

 _Probably all part of the scheme to throw me off my guard,_ Buzz thought. Yet he couldn't help feeling curious about these disheartened toys who looked and acted as if they were lost, as if this was all a mistake. No. _Better start marching again._ And Buzz commenced his routine.

* * *

Slinky was lying on his stomach, staring down at the brainwashed Space Ranger. He leaned his head dismally against the bars. Slinky felt so...so lost, and heartbroken. His family was in trouble and it looked as if there was nothing he could do to get them out of it. Woody, his best pal, his good friend, his smart, faithful, and brave sheriff who the sad old dog knew he could always depend on, his leader who always put others before himself because he was seeking their best interest, was gone! Slinky's body felt as heavy as stone. He missed his cowboy. A flood of memories filled the dog's mind: when Woody had been stolen by that greedy scumbag and Buzz had asked for volunteers to rescue the sheriff, Slinky had been the first one to step forward without a moment's hesitation; playing countless competitive games of Checkers with Woody; jumping down head first with his front end to help get the cowboy unstuck out of whatever predicament he couldn't escape on his own; Slinky lying on his back, chuckling as Woody tickled his sides and scratched his middle just like a real dog; helping Bullseye find the lost hat and happily bring it back to the overjoyed cowboy; those and a thousand more happy times he and Woody had spent together. Slinky covered his snout between his paws and whined.

Suddenly, more memories came to his mind also, but grisly memories, times in the past when Slinky had had this same feeling. When the other toys had thought Woody had killed Buzz and banished him from Andy's room only to find out later that Andy had lost him. Slinky remembered those feelings so clearly: he remembered sitting up all night, sadly staring out the window, whining, with Bo Peep painstakingly sitting next to him, gently patting his head as he laid it in her lap; then being so choked up that he couldn't speak when he saw Woody expose Buzz's broken arm and grievously believed that his pal had turned murderer, then smacked with regret for ever doubting the sheriff when Woody returned with Buzz riding on R.C.; Woody leaving Slinky to go to Japan, trading his precious friendships for fleeting moments of glory-that had pierced the poor dog to his very core. Woody who demonstrated that no toy gets left behind, Woody who risked his neck countless times to save others less fortunate than him, who always tried to be there for his kid or his friends-, turning his back on them; and...and n _ow?_ Now Woody was gone, this time for good, and an old familiar feeling of guilt and regret crept up Slinky's springy spine.

 _I did it again,_ Slinky thought painfully, _I didn't speak up! How many times did I remain silent when I could've said something and saved my pal? Aw, Woody. I'm so sorry, Buddy. This is my fault. I didn't agree to come here, but I didn't protest either. I just went along with it, letting others make choices for me, and now look at us! What was I thinkin'? I wasn't. I did agree to come here, by not standing up for Woody and refusing to come! I am partly responsible. I'm the lowest dog that ever was. I beat everything, darn it! I don't deserve as good a friend as Woody, and now we're all being punished...because of **me!**_ Slinky rolled onto his back and dismally faced his dark ceiling. _I was wrong, Woody. So wrong. This is may fault. All my darn, stupid fault! I failed you, Woody. I'm dreadfully sorry, good old pal! Well, I can't undo what I've done. My pals need me now. Buzz has turned his back on us, but I won't! I give you my word, Woody: I'll look after our friends and see to it that the rest of us stay together, even if we have to spend the rest of our miserable existence in this rat hole, none of us will ever be separated again! I..I promise! I'll look after them, for **you,** Bud! _ Slinky grimaced and clasped his head in his paws and cried.

* * *

Poor Mrs. Potato Head was very lonely without her husband there to comfort her. She kept speaking in low tones to her aliens above her. "Oh, boys, it's okay, babies," She tried to say soothingly. "I'm right here. Momma's not going anywhere if she can help it! I'm still here. We'll be all right as long as we're all together."

" _Mmmooommmyyy…."_ the aliens always responded to her.

 _But we're NOT all together,_ Jessie's mind wailed. _We're broken. Oh, Woody, if only you were here so I could apologize! I was wrong, and you were right, cowboy. And I will always regret how stubborn I've been and how rudely I've treated you._

" _I'm never speaking to you again, backstabber!"_ Barbie whispered loudly through clenched teeth. _"I don't know what I ever saw in you, Kenny boy. I thought you were so cute, but then you showed your true colors. I don't like you anymore. I don't care about you at all...not one bit!"_

Mitsy was curled on the ground, her hands tightly clenching her cape around her shoulders. She was thinking about another friend that she missed terribly, especially at this moment. A friend who would _never_ abandon her, but who possibly was in the same boat as Woody now. The first friend she'd ever had. _Jack! Oh, Jack,_ Mitsy's thoughts ached. _Jack, how I wish you were here! I miss you so much! I know that if you were in this place, you'd think of something and get us out of here. You'd find some way to get us back to Andy. Oh, Jack I wish you could've met Woody. You and he are the greatest. Jack, Jack, oh, Jack! I miss you...so bad!_ She turned on her side and squeezed her eyes shut.

* * *

It must have been midnight or passed by now, but there was a certain few of Andy's toys who were not all sleeping. They just couldn't. Barbie was sitting cross-legged in her confinement, still angry at Ken for being a cad like his boss, Lotso. She had been more than ready to enjoy her new life at Sunnyside since Molly apparently didn't want her anymore, and she'd thought that Ken was the answer to all her troubles. But any previous feelings she'd shown for him she now kept hidden underneath a huge pile of frustration and anger. _Oh, you traitor,_ she thought heatedly, _how could you? I wouldn't live in your glamorous dream house for all the clothes in the world you could offer! Don't you dare try to schmooze me into forgetting how mad I am at you, party boy. You do and I'll do more than rip a scarf from your neck!_

Slinky had had a very brief, super light sleep but he was awake now. He wished with all his quivering heart that he could spring out of his cage and free all his friends and take them safely back to Andy's. But what was the use of hoping? Everything was hopeless now... _everything_! Slinky felt just like Alan a Dale the rooster minstrel in the Disney cartoon Robin Hood when all the citizens were imprisoned in Nottingham. The song started lowly making its way through his tongue, though he altered one of the words to fit the occasion:

" _ **E-very town, has its ups and downs,**_

 _ **Sometimes ups outnumber the downs**_

 _ **But not at Sunnyside.**_

 _ **I'm inclined to believe**_

 _ **If we weren't so down,**_

 _ **We'd up and leave!**_

 _ **We'd up and fly if we had wings for flying;**_

 _ **Can't you see the tears we're crying?**_

 _ **Can't there be some happiness for m-ee?**_

 _ **Not at Sunnyside."**_

Slinky sang lowly, letting the words express the engulfing feelings in his heart. Finally, he was so choked up that he couldn't sing anymore. He lay his droopy head on the floor with his back end close to his face. He grabbed his hind legs and clung to them as if they were a friend: it was the only companionship he had to comfort himself with at the moment.

* * *

Jessie glanced at Woody's hat which lay a couple inches away from her. She thought of all the times he'd lost it, some which she'd taken and hidden it on him, and how frantically he'd always freaked out until it was found and given back to him. She gulped down a springing sob that was inching its way up her throat. Those had been fun times she had shared with the cowboy, and now...now she'd never get to play with him that way again! They'd never share jokes together or tease each other or stick beside each other ever again! He was gone, and that's all there was to it.

Suddenly, Jessie's mind went back to a sharp memory between her and Woody. It had happened when Andy wasn't playing with his toys anymore, 4 years ago, and Jessie had started freaking out about being donated, stored away, or thrown away. Woody had tried and tried to calm her down, but she couldn't control her painful fear. She remembered Woody's words perfectly…

" _Jessie, you're not under the bed this time. You're not alone now! Andy still has us, he's kept us. Whatever Andy chooses to do with us, just remember he cares."_

"No!" Jessie blurted out, surprising herself and anyone else who could hear her. She clutched the cowboy hat close to her chest and gripped it for dear life, as if doing so could make her feel Woody's comforting arms around her. "N-ooh-ho, ho, ho! Oh, Woody!" Jessie sobbed painfully as she couldn't hold her cries in any longer. Her whole body trembled as she rocked up and down with the hat in her arms like a baby. Then she saw a shadow leaning over her. She sadly looked up and saw Buzz, standing strong and staring at her in confusion yet his face firm, standing for no nonsense.

"Control yourself, Temptress," He said dryly. "It's your own fault you're in this mess. Now quit your crying and face the facts."

That cut Jessie deeply. If he had any kind of care in his electronic body, he would see that he'd just practically stabbed her, on top of everything else that had hurt her tonight about him. All night she'd been trying to keep up hope that Buzz, the _real_ Buzz was still somewhere in there. But not anymore. He was gone too! Jessie looked squarely into his eyes, squinting at him in both anger and heartbreak. "Stay away from me!" She wailed, and with the hat clutched up against her chest, scrambled away into the shadows, to the end of her cage, as far away from Buzz as she could possibly be. There she could be alone and grieve.

"Go away. Leave her alone." Slinky muttered quietly, staring down at the Space Ranger below him. Buzz looked up at Slinky. That springy dog's head was hanging glumly and he looked at him with such ache in his eyes. Buzz's brows furrowed: these toys weren't coercing him into anything but every time they made a minor disturbance and he tried to keep order about the premises, they would stand up to him, all out of care and concern for the ones that he reprimanded!

"Buzz, please! Can't you be nice to us _tonight,_ just a little bit?" Buzz looked up at the sound of another voice and saw the princess facing him, her face ready to break down with emotion. He supposed that melodramatic little lady hadn't learned her lesson. Maybe he should remind her again not to step out of line. But she didn't look defiant, she looked overwhelmed with grief. "J...Jessie still cares about you and you just hurt her horribly." Mitsy said sadly. "You might as well have just taken a knife and stabbed her with it. Can't you see that she's hurting? Just let us be. Please, Buzz! Please!" Mitsy doubled over and buried her head in her hands.

 _Aw, blast. Not that again,_ Buzz thought to himself.

"Find your heart, Buzz! Look inside it." Barbie added. "You're being so cruel to us, especially Jessie. We've lost our best friend tonight, and we need time to let it sink in. So you just go and buzz off, okay?"

Buzz glared darkly and clenched his fists. Half of him was angry, astounded at the abruptness of these prisoners who dared to defy and question his role as guardian of the galaxy. _They shall all be thrown in the box,_ He thought hastily. _I'm doing my job._ Then another half of him was tempted to give in and let them make as many statements as they wanted. Every scolding he gave them they became emotional about, and he didn't want to deal with that all night. And they had used some pretty strong words in accusing him: hurting someone horribly, like stabbing them with a knife, and cruel. And that Jessie still cared for him. Who was Jessie? That cowgirl? But he didn't know her, in fact, he'd never even seen her before, until tonight. It had to be all part of their plan to make him doubt himself just as Commander Lotso had told him. _They're acting, they have to be._ Buzz told himself. _They think they can play on my heart strings and I'll break down and let them get me in trouble for not keeping order around here. No. No one is going to use Buzz Lightyear_ _for a sucker. What do they take me for?_ Yet if he kept jumping on them, they might remain uncontrollably hysterical into all hours of the night. That wouldn't help him with his superiors either.

Buzz rolled his eyes and glanced suspiciously from one toy to another. Barbie and Slinky were watching him closely while Mitsy was lost in her weeping. Then he faintly saw the cowgirl again. She was all curled up into a ball, in the dark, her face extremely pained, and her cries sounding as if her heart was breaking. Those sounds he couldn't deny. "Pfft. Ugh," Buzz groaned, rolled his eyes, and walked away. Mitsy, Slinky, and Barbie watched him go.

"Thanks, guys," Mitsy said. "Maybe now he'll give us a break."

"Yeah," Slinky answered.

Barbie's face fell. "It's okay, Jessie. He's gone." She said sweetly but Jessie didn't answer. "Poor Jess." Barbie sighed.

"Buzz was so mean to her," Mitsy said sadly. "I never, ever thought I'd see him treat her like that!"

Slinky quietly stepped to the back of his wall directly above Jessie and spoke to her through the plastic floor. "We're still here, Jessie," he said soothingly. "You're not alone. We're here too."

Jessie was so distraught. Woody was dead, Buzz had turned cold and heartless, and she and her friends were stuck here with no life worth living. Woody's encouraging words he'd said to her all those years ago were gagging her right now. He'd been right about Andy all along, then and now! Jessie remembered clearly how that conversation had ended. Even then, she hadn't listened to him because she was so wrapped up in fear of being hurt again that she couldn't think straight. She hadn't listened to him then, and she certainly hadn't listened to him hours ago, when he tried to reason with her that Andy still did indeed care about them. She had a mind of her own and wasn't afraid to speak it, and the last thing...oh! The last thing she had said to the cowboy had been unkind. And now she could never apologize to his face!

Buzz's words had been stern, blunt, and worst of all... _true!_ Buzz had always been an upfront and straight to the point toy about things, no matter how ugly the facts. Though his tone was firm, he'd never been unkind about it so that you know he cared. But here in this infernal daycare center, his tone had been cold and accusing. _"He's right! He's right!"_ Jessie said to herself between her cries. _"It's my fault I'm...we're in this mess! It's all my fault!"_ Jessie wept heavily and sobbed until her voice was hoarse and her whimpers died down.

* * *

 **At Bonnie Anderson's House**

"I have to go!" Woody said firmly to the other toys who were warning him about the potential dangers of returning to Sunnyside. "Don't you see? My friends need me! They're in trouble, and I can't leave them there like this. I've got to help them!" Bonnie's toys convinced Woody to join them back on the bed with their adorable owner so that the cowboy could let his mind rest and sleep. But Woody couldn't go back to sleep. His mind was full and nagging at him.

 _Buzz, Jessie,_ Woody's thoughts played over and over again, _Guys, just hang in there. I'm coming back for you! I never should have left you all in the first place! And I promise I'll never, ever do it again. Don't worry, guys. I'll get you out of there and we'll all go_ _ **home**_ _to Andy's..._ _ **together!**_ _Just sit tight, guys. I'm coming back!_

 **The song lyrics come from** _ **Not in Nottingham**_ **in the Disney cartoon Robin Hood. I hope you all don't mind me adding some other character's perspectives of that night in Toy Story3. I feel like they are often overlooked. I hope I did a good job on this one. I did include Buzz/ Jessie shots but not romantic.**


End file.
